Sweet and Snarly Sixteen
by TorontoBatFan
Summary: Carolyn Collins Stoddard had always planned on leaving Collinwood for Manhattan as soon as she turned sixteen. However, as her sixteenth birthday -and another full moon- draw near, Carolyn realizes that both her perspective and her priorities have changed.
1. Chapter 1

_Greetings dear readers._

_Sorry I haven't published anything new in a while. My life has been more than a little stressful and busy._

_This was actually first planned to be a one chapter story, but I realized how long it was going and realized that the point where I end it here is a natural chapter cut off._

_The date of July 16th as Carolyn's birthday is courtesy of the the Dark Shadows Wikia. (It was based off of the original series, but I went with it.)_

_Reviews are always appreciated. :-D_

_And awayyyy we go! :-)_

* * *

Working in a fish cannery could be rough on people with a normal sense of smell. When you were a werewolf, with enhanced senses…it was a whole new story, thought Carolyn to herself as she pushed a cart of freshly gutted Atlantic Salmon across the work floor of the Collins Cannery. After almost a month of summer employment in her family's business, Carolyn would have thought she'd have gotten used to the scent of fish…but no luck.

She really had to respect the older workers who did this year-round. They did this for months, for years on end. They probably had gotten used to the smell of fish years ago. Of course, that was how they earned their living, versus Carolyn who was working there for the summer simply to earn her own spending money…as well as gaining firsthand knowledge of how the family business functioned.

Carolyn suspected that she was given the dirty jobs –gutting the fish, for example- largely because she was the boss' daughter and they were trying to see how much pressure she could take. Well, as far as Carolyn was concerned, they could keep on trying. She was going to prove to them she was no pampered girl who expected special treatment because her family owned the place. If they wanted to haze her, let them try. When you were Carolyn Collins Stoddard and you lived the life of a Collins…having to gut fish all day was really child's play. I mean, when you were a werewolf and you lived in a genuinely haunted house with a pair of vampires, your cousin communicated with his dead mother and you've gotten into a brawl with a witch…gutting fish was child's play.

Carolyn reached the processing tables with her load. The macho looking workers there –who she was quite certain were checking her out constantly- saw her stop the cart. The two workers (who had come over from Angel Bay Cannery when Barnabas "bought" it from Angelique) flashed matching condescending grins as they looked at Carolyn and the heavy metal containers that held the gutted fish.

"Hey there babe, let us help you with those." One of them said.

"Yeah, they look pretty heavy." His buddy added with a smirk. The two of them somehow labored under the opinion that Carolyn spent her days fantasizing about the two of them and was simply awaiting to see which one was more worthy of her hand (although her hands were NOT the part of her they stared at constantly).

Carolyn flashed them her trademark half-smirk and calmly lifted the trays –which weighed around fifty pounds apiece- onto the table. She cleared her cart so fast the two would-be macho men were left standing jaws agape, as she turned her cart around and headed back to the gutting dock where her work station was.

"Don't strain yourselves." She called sarcastically over her shoulder and smirked as she watched the as they discovered just how heavy the trays were. Overall, the disadvantage her condition had in terms of acuity of smell in a fish cannery was outdone by the advantage she had in terms of her being far stronger than pretty much any normal girl her age and size. Carolyn well knew that other workers in the cannery talked behind her back. They seemed to either be wary around the boss' daughter, or dismissive of what a little rich girl like herself (although the family was only recently returned to being able to call itself wealthy) could do in a demanding workplace like the cannery. Carolyn really couldn't care less what they said about her. She knew who she was. She…Her train of thoughts was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of another new hire. He was a swarthy guy with a mustache and incredibly pronounced sideburns –even by the standards of 1973- who had the reputation of having bedded at least three girls who worked at the two canneries so far. In the last six days, he'd been studiously looking over Carolyn…with the clear intention of making her number four.

"Hey Carol-Ann", he said (she wasn't sure if he was deliberately mispronouncing her name or he was just too stupid to know better...Carolyn's vote went to the latter) with a smile that was the most insincere gesture she'd seen since she saw President Nixon trying to proclaim his non-involvement in the burgeoning Watergate affair on television.

"Hello Ron" Carolyn responded in the usual detached monotone she reserved for people who irritated, or bored, her. "Do you…need…something?"

"Babe, a man like me always has a need for something. And I think you're just the fine chick who can fill that need." Ron said, moving slightly closer so she could get a full whiff of his Aqua Velva cologne.

"Really?" Carolyn asked with a sneer and a dose of sarcasm that –as she figured it would- went right over Ron's head.

"Oh yeah….What do you say we maybe go down to the beach after work? I've got some wine and weed in my car. We could put out a blanket and, you know…"

Carolyn found herself fighting against her temper. Ron was irritating her in all types of ways. Aside from her being underage, did he think she was so stupid that she hadn't heard of the reputation he'd gotten with girls around here? Carolyn felt her temper rising, but forced herself to be calm. It was difficult. Today was Friday. The full moon was on Sunday night. That meant she was already feeling the usual sense of restlessness and tension within her body, as the time of the change drew near again. She could sometimes feel the emotions of her animal side coming to the surface. That left her generally with no patience for the stupid or irritating. Ron checked off both of those boxes. Carolyn sighed heavily.

"Uh, no Ron…I don't know. Maybe you should spell it out for me." Carolyn said with her usual sarcasm.

"Well, we spread out the blanket on the sand…I pop open the Chianti, have a little grass…And I show you what a man does with a fine young lady such as you. You dig it?"

"What a man does? Oh, you didn't tell me I could bring my boyfriend Joe along. He's about the only real man I know living in this town right now." Carolyn said with mock sweetness as Ron absorbed her words and realized how she'd just put him down. (Ironically, she thought, she actually spoke the truth. David didn't count as a man because he was only eleven. And Barnabas…well, he wasn't technically alive so he didn't count as 'living' in Collinsport.) After about ten seconds of his mental wheels squeaking over her words, the arrogant smile faded from Ron's face, replaced by a perplexed look.

Just then Carolyn lunged at him, and as she did so, she made an intensely deep growling sound like Ron had never heard before. It was like something a dog would make…a really large and very vicious dog (or a wolf). Carolyn only lunged a few inches, but the shock of her sudden gesture, combined with the growl she mustered had the intended effect. Ron jumped back only to find himself slipping on fish oil that coated the floor. He stumbled backwards and tumbled into a vat of fresh fish guts.

Ron pulled himself up, wiping the goo from his face, to find Carolyn marching up to him and locked her cold green eyes (he was too shocked to realize that they had been blue only a few days before) on him.

"Now you listen to me, Ron. I don't want anything to do with you. If you keep harassing the girls here, I swear I'll see to it you're fired. And, if I find out you're trying to screw girls my age by giving them wine and weed…I guarantee you that the night after I find out, getting fired will be the absolute least of your problems. Do you dig it?" Carolyn asked in a very cold tone of voice –that somehow, to Ron, sounded like it was mixed with an animalistic growl- that indicated she meant every word she said.

"Yeah…Yeah, I dig."

"Good" Carolyn said simply, then leaned in and sniffed the miasma of fish guts enveloping Ron in an exaggerated manner. "Hmmm, that's an improvement on your cologne." She said with a sneer before turning on her heels and walking away.

Later that afternoon, Carolyn dismounted her bicycle and wheeled it into the garage at Collinwood. Her mother was still at the cannery, going over some paperwork and wouldn't be home until a little later. Even so, Carolyn preferred to go to work on her own. It felt a little awkward having her mother –the cannery's boss- giving her a ride to work every day. Plus, when the time of the full moon grew near, Carolyn found she wanted to do all the physical activity she could. It helped her burn off the growing energy she found herself with as the time of the change crept up on her again. As she walked from the garage to the kitchen door of Collinwood she found herself thinking of Ron again. The guy was a creep, no two ways about it. She'd meant what she said that if she found out he was using booze and drugs to get into girls' pants she'd make him very sorry. If it wasn't full moon, she could merely have a talk with her aunt and uncle. Carolyn had a feeling that both Barnabas and Victoria would regard Ron as much of a swine as she did…and would agree that he needed to be taught a lesson he would not soon forget.

Besides, even if Ron wasn't a pig and she wasn't already dating Joe Haskell, the whole booze and drugs bit wasn't the way to get anywhere with her. Carolyn was well aware of how prevalent both were amongst her peers. She wasn't condemning of other kids who did indulge…but it wasn't for her. She'd seen for years, in Julia Hoffman, what a dependence on alcohol and drugs could do to a person. As well, Carolyn was all too aware of the need she had to remain in control of herself. She knew too little of her condition to do otherwise. On the night of the climax of her family's feud with Angelique, she'd experienced a partial transformation on a night that didn't even have the full moon. She couldn't be certain if that was due to Angelique's presence, or simply the onslaught of emotions and adrenalin she'd felt. All she knew was the fear that taking any sort of substance that lessened her control over herself could be a very bad thing indeed. For all she knew, not only could she find herself changing, but she might not even have any control over herself in her werewolf form either. (THAT scared her more than anything: the idea of not being able to control herself when she was a werewolf. The idea of waking up the morning after full moon, like Lon Chaney Jr. in those old horror movies on the late show, not remembering what happened the night before was a most disturbing one. She smirked at how tidy those movies made becoming a werewolf looked. Larry Talbot always seemed to wake up fully dressed and his clothes presentable if a little mussed up. The morning after the full moon always found Carolyn stark naked and often soaking wet, muddy, covered in tree sap, etc. That was something Universal Pictures never seemed to show.)

Carolyn entered the house and listened, allowing her enhanced senses to tell her what she wanted to know. She could hear David upstairs somewhere, talking with Willie. They seemed to be inspecting the day's work that the two of them had done on painting Collinwood's interiors. Everything was progressing on schedule. The rebuilding of Collinwood would be officially completed, with all work done, by autumn. David and Willie were pitching in by doing some painting of the various rooms during the day when Carolyn and her mother were at the cannery…and Barnabas and Victoria were still sleeping. Carolyn kicked off her shoes and headed upstairs to shower off the day's scent of fish guts.

Twenty minutes later, Carolyn pulled a t-shirt over her head and began to comb her wet hair. She paused to turn on some music. She smiled and listened to the sound of Donovan Leitch perform "Season of the Witch". It was a song she didn't play too often now. Barnabas hated the title (his reaction whenever _Bewitched _came on television was equally as severe) and tried to eject the record through the nearest window. (She could see where he was coming from, but thought he was taking it to extremes). They compromised by Carolyn promising to only play it during the day when he didn't have to hear it. Carolyn let herself move trippily to the music as she combed her hair. She remembered dancing to the same song in the dining room the day Victoria arrived and met the Collins family for the very first time last year. Carolyn had to admit that Victoria really took the family –with their dysfunctional issues- in stride that first time. (And that was even before Barnabas showed up.) She looked around her room. It was far different than her old one, even though it was in the same place –in the tower that adorned the front of the mansion. The dimensions were the same, but the décor was far different. Now, Carolyn had opted for more restrained colours and had fewer posters of music groups on the walls. She did still have the hanging chair though (It was the first thing she listed when her mother had asked her how she wanted to decorate her room when they moved back in.), as well her lava lamp and shag carpeting. On the wall was a Rolling Stones calender. The box for the coming Sunday was circled in red, denoting that it was the night of the full moon and the change. As she moved to the music, she caught a glance out the window and smiled. She just saw Joe Haskell biking up to the house.

Carolyn looked in the mirror and made sure her hair was alright. She bolted out of her bedroom, down the small flight of stairs and led to the main corridor and sprinted down to the main stairs. Having Joe visit now made Carolyn feel…just…good. And that was on top of the churning expectation of the full moon. Reaching the stairs, Carolyn simply leapt over the banister and dropped to the foyer below. (The agility was another side-effect of her condition.) She landed in a crouch on her bare feet, with a grace that simply was not human (which was the case). She stood up, smoothed her hair, and trotted to the front door, pulling it open just as Joe rang the bell.

"Hi" Joe said in surprise at her presence at the door so soon after ringing the bell.

"Hi" She said back with a smile, gesturing for him to come in.

"Where is everyone?" Joe asked as he entered Collinwood and –as he always did- simply took in the grandeur of the house.

"My mom's still at the cannery. Willie and David are upstairs painting some of the rooms that were just finished. Victoria and Barnabas are…um...busy." She said.

"Cool. I just wanted to come over and say goodbye to you myself."

"I'm glad you did." Carolyn said with a coy smile. Then it faded somewhat. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too. I wish I didn't have to go." Joe said. His family was leaving, within the hour, for an annual family gathering in Salem, Massachusetts.

"Me too"

"It'll only be for a week. When I get home next Sunday, I promise I'll call you first thing." Joe said with a smile.

"You'd better." Carolyn said with fake look of sternness on her face.

"I swear." Joe said with a laugh as they walked over to the fireplace. (That had finally been finished by the workmen. Now, there were no signs of the previous year's fire. Barnabas planned to return the treasure from the family crypt to the secret room behind the fireplace within the week. To ensure nobody else knew of the secret room and locking mechanism, he'd hypnotized all the workers involved in the repair to forget what they'd seen. He had slipped each of them a twenty dollar bonus though as his way of apologizing for the hypnotism.) Joe looked around. "Your Uncle Barnabas really had this place rebuilt just as it was?"

"Yeah, pretty much; the kitchen's totally modern now and the plumbing in the bathrooms are a whole lot better as well. Everything else is just like it was." Carolyn said, as Joe looked up to the ceiling.

"Hey, I've always meant to ask. What are those things up there?" Joe asked as he pointed.

"Up where?" Carolyn asked, tilting her own head upwards.

"Up there, those circles right next to the light."

"Oh…Those are the heads for the sprinkler system."

"The what?"

"Barnabas had a sprinkler system put in when they rebuilt the house."

"You mean, like they have in hotels and offices now?"

"Yeah, he said that it was a smart precaution." Carolyn said. She didn't tell Joe that Barnabas had been considering it, but when David said that his mother told him something about him being a phoenix…That was the clincher. Her mother said that the Collins family always endured. Barnabas agreed with that…he added that from now on, they would take all due precautions as well.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Joe said as he began to walk back to the front door.

"Do you have to go so soon?" Carolyn asked dejectedly.

"I'm afraid so. My dad wants to get going before the traffic on I-95 gets really bad. He hates all the summer tourists who clog up the roads."

"Well, I hope you have a good trip."

"It won't be."

"Why not?"

"You won't be on it." Joe said. Before Carolyn could respond, Joe pulled her close and kissed her tenderly on the lips. As they broke, Carolyn's face was a mix of serenity and desire.

"I really, really am going to miss you." Carolyn said softly.

"I'll miss you too. When I get back next week, I'll take you out to dinner and a movie. We can celebrate your birthday then." Joe said as he walked out the door and mounted his bike with a wave, as he set off for his house.

Carolyn waved and shut the door once Joe was out of sight. She was mentally kicking herself. How could she have forgotten? She supposed it was due to all of the usual anxiety and jumbled emotions that came as the time of the full moon grew close again. Still she couldn't believe she'd forgotten such a momentous event. Two major events now stood in her near future. Today was Friday, July 13th. (The irony of the date didn't escape any members of the family that lived in a house of supernatural elements and beings.) Sunday, July 15th was the night of the full moon. Monday, July 16th, 1973 was the day Carolyn turned sixteen.


	2. Chapter 2

_Greetings dear readers._

_Welcome to Chapter II of "Sweet and Snarly Sixteen". This was a fairly easy chapter to write, but it took a while. It was a good five hours for me to get it written. phew_

_I had some people ask me if I was ever going to show Carolyn's first transformation, so I've obliged them here. I sort of took inspiration from _An American Werewolf in London_ in terms of how Carolyn reacts to it. The finished result though, I visualize as looking like the wolf in _Cursed_ or the 1987-88 show _Werewolf_. Her howl though, is DEFINITELY the one from _An American Werewolf in London_ though._

_I do hope everyone enjoys this._

_As you all know, reviews are to my writing process like a nitrous tank is to a car -it just makes it all go crazy fast. LOL_

_And awayyyy we go! :-)_

* * *

July 15th, 1973

The breaking wave cascaded down on Carolyn's head as she approached the beach. She pushed her long wet hair away from her eyes and continued swimming. She turned around and looked behind her. David was churning his arms, intensely, trying to keep up with his older and stronger cousin.

Carolyn flipped onto her back and called out to him as she changed over to a backstroke. "Come on David! We're almost there!"

David looked up and saw that they were almost in to the beach. Encouraged by this, he put his face back down and began swimming with renewed energy.

Carolyn noted that the water was getting shallower quite fast. Soon, her bare toes were touching the sand. A few seconds later, David was able to stand up again as well. The two youngest Collins family members then floated and allowed the waves to carry them up onto the shore.

As they stood up and walked back to their towels, Carolyn took notice of how David was carrying himself. He clearly was tired, but had managed to keep up with her adequately. He'd made amazing progress since she'd begun helping him with his swimming. The water was fairly rough on this Sunday afternoon. A wind coming in from the Atlantic was causing large waves to roll into the beach at Collinwood. Out on the ocean, numerous sails could be seen as local day sailors took advantage of the bright, windy day. She could see that battling them had worn David out, although they had made the swim challenging for him. As for her, she felt like she could go back into the water and swim even further. She felt like she could swim all the way to the harbour at Collinsport, if she wanted to. And this was after already working several hours at the cannery (The cannery processed the catch as soon as fishing boats brought them in. The boats came in as soon as they were full. As a result, the cannery usually was operating on some level seven days a week during the summer season.) It was getting on towards half-past five in the afternoon. The change was only hours away now.

The water, Carolyn noted, was coming further up the beach than usual. The tide was at its highest now; the ocean waves were feeling the pull of the now full moon. Carolyn was also feeling the pull of the full moon. She felt…like she was bursting with energy. It left her almost giddy. She looked over to the path that led up from the beach towards Collinwood. At that moment, she felt like she didn't need it. Carolyn felt like she could climb the sheer side of the cliffs and not even feel tired when she reached the top.

David looked at her briefly. "They're starting to turn gold."

"Huh?" She hadn't been paying attention to him, she was thinking of the cliffs.

"Your eyes; they're all green now and are starting to turn gold."

"Oh…Yeah…It's getting close."

"You can feel it, can't you?"

"Yes"

"What's it like?"

"Do you mean now or when it happens?"

"Now"

"It's weird. It's like I'm so full of energy I want to burst. I feel like I just want to let loose and run. I feel like I could go back into the water and swim up to Nova Scotia or down to Boston. It's like something you can't wait for it to come –like Christmas morning, or something."

"You're never scared by it?" David asked quietly. He was well aware of how strange -by the standards of others- his family was. Uncle Barnabas and Vicky were vampires. He himself talked to his mother's ghost –and he suspected he could probably talk to other ghosts if the opportunity arose. But, what happened to Carolyn was something else entirely. She changed into a giant wolf every month. He knew he wouldn't enjoy that one little bit. If ever given the choice –and for the record, he didn't want such a choice- he'd rather be a vampire than a werewolf.

"No, not now; I was when it started though." Carolyn said quietly. She allowed her thoughts to take her back almost four years.

_1969_

_Carolyn was bored. She was always bored here. Collinwood was a lousy place to grow up. It was ancient and falling apart. There was never anything to do that was any good around here. Well, she could watch Willie try to do some gardening after he'd been drinking and then try to guess when he'd fall down and pass out. Or, she could watch her creepy Uncle Roger skulk about, looking for anything valuable in the house. _

_Her mother kept telling her that she should invite some friends up and then she'd have something to do. She sneered at the thought. WHAT friends? At school she was pretty much as isolated socially as she was physically isolated at home. She recalled when she started school in town when she was small. She actually tried to make friends and succeeded. However, as she and her peers got older, the stigma of the Collins family became more and more significant to her friends. Soon enough, she was no longer being invited to birthday parties or to come to sleepovers and the like. Before long, the other girls would all hang out together…and it was clear Carolyn was not welcome to join them. And as for boys, well she HAD started to take an interest in boys –she'd turned twelve the month before and had started to notice boys a few months before that- but none of them werr interested in a Collins. It was around that time, that Carolyn's existence had begun to revolve around her music, her magazines and her room._

_It wasn't fair, she sighed to herself. It was a big, wondrous world and she was incarcerated in this tomb by the ocean as surely as criminals were locked up at Shawshank Prison. And what would happen when she grew up? Her mother no doubt expected her to take over the family businesses. What businesses? They had a few leaky boats left to their name and that was about it. Her mother did her best, Carolyn knew, and was a most capable woman, but it was as if some forces were working against them. Her mother probably thought that when she was an adult, Carolyn would want to take over and be able to turn things around. Yeah…Like Carolyn wanted to spend the rest of her life here. She wanted to see the world. And as isolated as Collinsport was from the turmoil of the 1960's, enough had filtered through to scream that the times were-a-changing; like that song by Bob Dylan proclaimed. _

_Carolyn tossed down her magazine and started to furiously pace her room. She didn't know how she'd be able to sleep tonight. She felt so energized and wound up, she felt sleep would be impossible. She wanted right then to escape. Escape from Collinwood; escape from her dreary life. She wanted to go out and join the world. Her energy seemed to peak again. She caught a glimpse of the full moon through her window. The moon…Just a month before, men had walked on the moon for the very first time. (In fact, the launch date for Apollo 11 had coincided with her twelfth birthday.) She emitted a sigh –that strangely came out like a growl. Men had walked on the moon and she was still stuck at Collinwood. It was so…_

_Carolyn never finished her thought. A strange tingling sensation began and spread through her entire body. All of her sudden her body was rocked with spasms. She dropped to the floor as if struck. Blind panic struck the young girl. What was happening to her? She tried to call out to her mother…her uncle…anyone…for help._

"_Mom!" She tried to shout, but her words came out more like a low growl than the piercing scream she wanted. With Collinwood's huge size, there was no way she'd be heard._

_Carolyn began to claw madly at her clothing. It was as if she was couldn't stand having anything on her. Her pants she was able to undo and pull off. Her shirt and underwear though, she simply tore from her body, leaving her writing with fear and pain, totally naked on her bedroom floor._

_It was then she thought that if she pounded on the floor, maybe someone would hear her. That insane drunk Julia Hoffman was in the house. (Carolyn has personally thought it rather telling that Julia was able to effectively abandon whatever life or professional practice she'd had to move into Collinwood. Obviously her services had not been in high demand where she'd practiced psychiatry before.) Even SHE would be better than nothing right now. As she tried to make a fist, Carolyn's eyes grew wide with terror as she saw that her fingernails were growing –seemingly magically before her eyes- into very sharp looking claws. In fact, her whole hand was reshaping itself into a paw (more accurately a hand-paw hybrid) with an accompanying horrid cracking and grinding of bones. Carolyn tried to scream, but it came out as animal growl like what a dog…or a wolf…would make. She looked down at her bare feet…and wished she hadn't. Her feet were reshaping themselves into paws as well. She could see the bones moving –with the accompanying disgusting cracking noise- about beneath her skin and her toenails growing long and sharp like her fingernails._

_The terrified girl rolled over with a moan, and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on her closet door. Her whole body was changing! On her bare chest, in place of her tiny breasts, muscles were rippling under her skin. Her entire torso was growing to an immense size. And her face…As she opened her mouth to try and scream for help again, she noticed –with yet more horror- that her teeth had grown incredibly long and sharp. It wasn't the mouth of a twelve-year old girl any longer. It was the mouth of some wild animal. Her ears had begun to grow long and pointed! And her body was changing colour too. Actually, she realized, it wasn't changing colour as starting to be covered with thick, dark hair. It was growing everywhere! In a matter of seconds, it wouldn't matter if anyone HAD come in and seen her naked on the floor. There was no longer any of her skin that was showing. But that couldn't compare to her face. In addition to those horrid teeth, her eyes had turned gold and her face then began to blur. No…It wasn't blurring. It was changing as well. It was reshaping itself into a muzzle. _

_Carolyn squeezed her eyes shut, praying for this to end. Some instinct demanded she rise. As she pulled herself up, she saw that her hand now looked something between a hand and a paw. It still had five opposable digits, but was covered in dark fur and had vicious claws where her previously short fingernails were._

_Things looked different now. As she got up, she'd knocked her bedside light off, causing the filament to break. The room was plunged in darkness, but she could see perfectly. In the mirror, a nightmarish sight was reflected to her. A huge wolf, standing- amazingly- upright on two legs was revealed in the glass. Carolyn tentatively moved her right arm. In response, the wolf in the mirror moved its massively strong looking left arm. It's a dream, she thought to herself. It has to be. It can't be anything else._

_The open window beckoned. As if driven by an instinct, Carolyn leaped out of it, landing gracefully at the base of the tower where her room was. Without even pausing to reflect on how she could jump that distance so easily, Carolyn took off for the woods that covered most of the Collins estate. As she ran, her fear disappeared and she found herself enjoying the experience. She'd decided this had to be a dream, so she might as well just go with it until she woke up. As the night wore on, Carolyn roamed through the woods. Once she came to the main road. A car approached and she retreated back into the trees. As the car passed, she was not only able to smell the exhaust, but the scent of the occupants as well. She felt hungry as well and began to look for prey. She took down a deer and fed on it, finding it sated her. As the night wore on, she felt her energy start to ebb. Looking to the sky, she saw that the moon was beginning to set. Instinct carried her back to Collinwood and up the tower's side into her room. As she got back into her room, her body began to tingle and shift again. She collapsed to her knees as the sensation overpowered her. Looking at her hands, she saw her human hands return. Vaguely, she'd recall climbing into her bed and passing out._

_Carolyn awoke to a sunny summer morning. She stretched her arms and yawned. Well, she thought to herself as memories to the night flooded back into her mind. That was the strangest dream she'd ever had in her life. She idly wondered if maybe Julia had accidentally dropped one of her –many- pills into Carolyn's water glass at dinner last night and she was tripping on something._

_Carolyn threw back the covers and got out of bed, stretching herself and enjoying the ocean breeze on her naked body….Wait a minute, she thought. Why was she naked? She looked at the floor and saw the remnants of her clothing from the night before, as well as the fallen nightlight. In the mirror she saw that her mouth had blood around it, from the deer she'd "dreamed" about feeding on. Looking at her bare hands and toes, she saw they were filthy –as was the rest of her body. She sat on her bed, with shaking legs. She'd thought all of it a dream. But, if the part about her tearing off her clothing had been real…and the evidence before her seemed to indicate that it was…Could the rest of it have been real as well._

_That morning, Carolyn walked around the grounds. To her horror, she saw huge paw prints, leading to and from the house. What was going on? Was she some sort of monster from the movies? For a short while, she considered telling her mother about it but decided not to. Her mother felt the Collins family had to be the family that could do no wrong. Finding out that her daughter was a werewolf (if it was all true) was a pretty big wrong. Carolyn remained silent. (In hindsight, she would feel that was a mistake.)_

_The full moon in September arrived. That evening, Carolyn was nervous. Would it happen again? Was she going crazy? As she sat in her room, she felt the tingling again as the change came again. This time, she wasn't as scared as she was wondering how this was happening to her and why._

_By October, Carolyn had begun to recognize the symptoms as well as come to a resolution that she couldn't stay here. Sooner or later, she'd be found out. What would be she termed then? A freak! She'd be locked up somewhere and studied by scientists, or seized by the government, or just put into a padded cell for the rest of her life. No, the only thing to do was get away. But to where? New York City! That was the answer. It was huge. It would be easy for her to disappear into it. Plus, from what she'd heard of it, it was full of weirdoes and freaks. One more of them –as that was what Carolyn judged herself to be- wouldn't make much of a difference. She swore that the day she turned sixteen, she would leave Collinwood forever and go to Manhattan. _

1973

"So you're not scared anymore?" David asked.

"No. It's what I am. It's a part of me." Carolyn said as she wrung some salt water from her hair.

"That's good." David said as he took his cousin's hand and smiled at her. Since the family's big battle with Angelique, he and Carolyn had grown quite close. They'd become far, far more like brother and sister. David worried a little about Carolyn when the full moon came. Carolyn, on her part, had started acting like a big sister to David. That was why they at the beach. David had never been taught to swim by his father. Elizabeth and Barnabas agreed that would simply not do. To their surprise, Carolyn had volunteered to teach David and practice with him. After she'd taught him the basics, he'd picked it up surprisingly quickly and actually enjoyed swimming in the ocean with Carolyn. (The manor's swimming pool was scheduled to be overhauled later in the month, so they could be able to go swimming in it, in August and into September if the weather was good. For right now though, the ocean was fine.)

Reaching their towels, the two sat down and let the sun dry them. Carolyn put on her sunglasses and stretched back, allowing the sun to dry her one-piece purple bathing suit. She glanced up the beach to a cluster of rocks that lay beneath Widow's Hill. (Barnabas had solemnly intoned how the hill got its name. Women would come to the hill to watch the fishing boats return…if they did return. Many a woman had learned she was a widow on that hill…and more than a few had opted to join their husbands in the sea and rocks below.) It was there, she knew, where Josette DuPres had fallen in 1776, and where Victoria had fallen the previous fall, causing Barnabas to turn her into a vampire.

Victoria herself still had some problems looking at that spot when she and Carolyn came down there at night. Carolyn had offered to teach Victoria to swim as well. (Not that she need fear drowning any longer, but Victoria had always felt she had missed out on never having learned due to her commitment in the asylum and wanted to rectify that. As Victoria always came to check on her after full moon, it was the least Carolyn could do in return.) So, she and Victoria came down to the beach quite often at night to swim. Carolyn could see well enough in the dark, and Vicky saw everything perfectly. Of course, Vicky didn't have a swimsuit, so when they went swimming, Carolyn would just leave her suit in the house and they would swim with nothing on. Every time they came down here though, Victoria seemed to be anxious about Widow's Hill. To be honest though, Carolyn really couldn't blame her.

As she savoured the warm July sun, Carolyn found herself wishing that Joe was here. She would really have to invite him over to go swimming once he got back next week. She had a feeling that going swimming with him would be far more fun than with David…She might even be persuaded to leave her swimsuit up in the house if Joe played his cards right, she thought to herself with a small smile.

"Say…" David said from next to her.

"What?"

"How you don't do your best stroke?"

"My what stroke?" Carolyn asked in a deadpan, sensing that David was now trying to be funny again.

"You know…a dog paddle." David said with a giggle. Carolyn just stared at him for a second, and then shot her arms out and pulled him into a headlock as David started laughing uncontrollably as he tried to break free.

"I'll show you a dog paddle" Carolyn laughed as she started to give David a noogie, while he just kept on laughing.

A little later, Elizabeth, David and Carolyn were finishing their dinner. As a rule, Barnabas and Victoria didn't join them at the table during the summer that often. The sun simply set too late (and the windows faced west, causing the room to remain too bright for their tastes) and the two vampires had declared it wasn't fair for everyone else to hold off their dinner until the sun set and they got up. (Barnabas and Victoria would join everyone at the table though once autumn arrived and the darkness came earlier.) Afterwards, Carolyn took her turn doing the dishes –after recruiting David into drying. As the evening wore on, she felt her restlessness beginning to increase.

"Honey" Her mother called to her from across the foyer.

"Yeah mom?"

"I'm going to bed now. Will you be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Ok sweetie. Be careful." She said as she gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek and climbed the stairs.

"Night, mom"

Carolyn could feel it now. The moon would be rising soon. A joyful tension began to spread through her body. It was as if her body knew that the rising of the moon was imminent and the change was almost upon her again.

It was coming soon, she decided. From upstairs, she could hear footsteps as Barnabas and Vicky were walking around. In the kitchen, she could hear Willie –who'd had the day off- fixing himself a sandwich and opening a beer. David himself was watching an old rerun of _Bonanza _on the television set. She smirked at the ironic coincidence, as Michael Landon had played the title role in _I Was a Teenage Werewolf_, back in 1957 –the year of her birth.

"I'm going upstairs." She said simply. David, who knew what that meant, and what was imminent, simply nodded his head.

"Have a good…night…I guess." He told his cousin.

"I'll try." Carolyn said she ruffled David's hair –to his annoyance- as she walked past him to the stairs.

Up in her room, Carolyn methodically stripped naked. As she reached for a robe, she saw the calendar on the wall. The next day was her sixteenth birthday. She pulled on the robe and tied it up. As she walked out of her room, she realized that the next time she came back into her room, she'd be sixteen.

Carolyn silently walked along a back hallway and took the back stairway –that had been used by the servants in the days when Collinwood had kept a large household staff- down and left the house by the kitchen door. Once outside, she walked past the gardens that had been put in after the manor had been rebuilt. Vicky was making that her special project and her work was starting to pay off. Dropping her robe as she reached the main lawn, Carolyn saw the full moon rising. She smiled at it, like it was a friend returning –which in a way, it was. Carolyn spread her arms out, as if she was allowing the moonlight to caress her body, as the familiar tingling began. She smiled to herself as she felt the change come upon her.

It didn't hurt like it had when she was twelve. Either the transformation got less painful as time went on, or she just got used to it, Carolyn honestly didn't know. However, even though there was still some discomfort with the change –the sound of her bones moving around was something she knew she'd never get used to- it didn't hurt her any longer. Now, she welcomed the feeling of power that came into her body every month.

As the change completed, Carolyn reared her head back and let out a loud, roaring howl. In Collinwood, David heard it and shook his head in wonderment as he tried to imagine what it was like for Carolyn. He was glad she seemed ok with everything though, as he turned his attention back to the chess lesson Barnabas was giving him. In her room, Elizabeth rolled over and looked out the window at the full moon as she heard her daughter give her monthly cry. Over the last four years, she'd heard howls at night during the full moon. It had never dawned on her until learning what Angelique had done, that she'd dreamed it was her daughter making those noises. Not for the first time, Elizabeth wondered if there was anything she could have done to protect Carolyn from all of this. Sixteen years tomorrow, since she'd given birth to her daughter, Elizabeth thought. She rolled over and tried to go to forget the howl, so she could go to sleep. She wanted to be up early, when Carolyn returned. She wanted to be able to fix a special breakfast for her and tell Carolyn about her birthday surprise.

Out on the lawn, Carolyn lowered her head again after her cry to the moon. Rising to her hind legs, the werewolf that was Carolyn Collins Stoddard took to the woods to begin her monthly prowl.


	3. Chapter 3

_Greetings dear readers. Well, here's the wrap-up to the story. The chapter runs a little long, but I've been so busy of late, finding time and mental energy to write had become problematic. Hence, I wanted to get this completed so I wouldn't leave everyone dangling. _

_I hope everyone enjoys the chapter._

_The segment where Victoria reads her old diary in a homage to the series -bother original and 1991 reboot._

_Not to worry, I'm already mentally planning out further DS fics._

_You all know my desire for reviews._

_And awayyyyy we go. :-)_

* * *

The full moon shone down on Collinwood Manor and the surrounding grounds, bathing the newly rebuilt house and gardens in a pale blue light.

On the verdant lawn that spread out from the gardens, an enormous, bipedal wolf rose to its feet and turned its yellow eyes to the moon. Rearing back its head, the wolf let out a savage, berserker howl.

Inside Collinwood, the howling was easily heard through the windows left open to allow in cool ocean breeze on the July night.

In the upper-level suite of rooms that she and Barnabas occupied, Victoria heard the howls as she perused the book shelf, reorganizing the various tomes collected there. Unlike the main library downstairs, the books here were a most private collection. They were a collection of the books on the occult that Barnabas had studied back in his human life. After Angelique had turned him into a vampire, he had relegated the collection to the treasure room downstairs, thus they'd been undamaged by the fire. Barnabas had decided that he didn't want to leave the books in a place where other members of the family could see them, as he felt they contained too much knowledge of dark arts. (As well, there were likely no other books like that still in existence, so Barnabas didn't want to destroy them, as one could never tell when their information might come in handy at Collinwood). So, Barnabas kept them locked away in his own rooms.

Victoria pulled another book from the shelf. It was a modern diary. Its cover was scorched and some of the pages were blackened, but it had miraculously survived the fire in the original Collinwood. She smiled as she recognized it. It was the diary that she'd carried with her when she'd first come to Collinwood the previous year. She'd been wondering where she'd put it since they moved back in a few months prior. The young vampire opened the cover and read her own words, still quite legible despite the soot marks….

_My name is Victoria Winters. I must get used to saying that. Maggie Evans is dead to the world now. Victoria Winters now lives in her place. My name is Victoria Winters…._

_I am on a journey the ending of which I cannot predict. The spirit that has been my companion all these years is now guiding me. She's guiding me to a place called Collinwood. Collinwood…I've never heard of it until I answered the advertisement in the paper, but it seems familiar to me. It's as if I've seen it before…as if I've lived there before in another time…in another life._

_Why is she so insistent I go there? The newspaper advertised for a live-in governess. Why does she wish me to take that position? I've never taught anyone before. Yet, the idea feels right to me. _

_What awaits me at Collinwood? Will I find answers to the questions that have plagued me all my life, or will I find only more mysteries? _

_What type of people will I find there? The Collins family…I know nothing of them, but the name stirs echoes of familiarity in my soul. Something tells me that they will become very important to me in time. In time perhaps, but for now they are not real yet. They are merely dark shadows upon my wall…_

Victoria smiled again as she closed the book. Her words then had been prophetic. She had indeed found answers to some of the questions that had long plagued her. She'd come to the place she belonged. The instant she'd opened her eyes as a vampire at the bottom of Widow's Hill, it had all become clear to her. Her memories now were not only of her life as Maggie Evans, but of Josette DuPres as well. Barnabas turning her into a vampire had allowed Josette's spirit to reunite with her reincarnated form. Victoria's personality was the dominant one but she had all of Josette's memories now and could feel all the things Josette had felt but in her human life and the almost two centuries she'd been a ghost. She could even speak perfect French now, Victoria thought with amusement.

Her words about the Collins family had proven prophetic as well. They were indeed the most important thing in her life now. She felt a closeness to them that she'd never felt with her own family before they'd had her committed. The dark shadows upon her wall had indeed become real and come to life, and become her life as well.

Barnabas was not only the man Josette had loved and waited for, for nearly two hundred years, but he was the man that she herself had fallen in love with. True, she'd been shocked upon learning he was a vampire…But when she allowed herself to consider how she came to Collinwood to begin with, it shouldn't have been that great a surprise to her.

Elizabeth was perhaps the most remarkable woman Victoria had ever met. She personified intelligence, dignity and calmness in the face of adversity. She simply refused to give in to adversity and set an example for everyone else. In face of nearly having a witch kill her whole family and destroying Collinwood, her governess turned into a vampire and learning her daughter was a werewolf; Elizabeth had simply refused to give in to the stress of everything. She'd kept her head held high, straightened her back and set out to do what was needed. Not two weeks after the events of that night, the family was settled into the hastily refurbished Old House, the wreckage of the old Collinwood had been cleared away and the construction crews had arrived to begin rebuilding.

And then there was David. When Victoria had first met him, as he entered the dining room with a sheet over his head, she instantly sensed that he was like her. He was someone who wasn't crazy but could actually talk to the dead. She felt an instant affinity for him, as he clearly was regarded as mad by the rest of the family. Now, David had no further need for a governess. In the fall, he would be attending the local school in town…after she and Barnabas had "convinced" the principal to allow him to return as a pupil.

Just then, Victoria heard the howling from outside and her thoughts turned to the final member of the Collins clan, Carolyn. She had probably given Victoria the least welcoming reception of anyone when she arrived. In fact, Carolyn had intimated that she wouldn't last more than a week here. In the ensuing weeks, Carolyn had proven very hard to get close to. However, the same night Victoria had been turned into a vampire, the mystery of much of Carolyn's personality was solved…she was a werewolf. Victoria could now see why she was so guarded and always so short-tempered. The fear of discovery and what would happen to her had been her constant companion since she turned twelve. (And as she herself had been locked away in a mental hospital for years, Victoria could completely see why her fears could be reasonable.) As the creature outside howled again, Victoria smiled at how different her relationship with Carolyn was now. Once the need to keep everything a secret was no longer there, Carolyn had opened up and mellowed quite a bit. She'd gladly accepted Victoria's overtures of friendship. Indeed, it could be said that the two were now each other's best friend. Victoria's relationship with Barnabas technically made her Carolyn's aunt…but their dynamic was far more of sisters. And, according to her watch, in a few hours her surrogate sister would be turning sixteen. Victoria would –as she always did at full moon- venture out as the moon set and Carolyn changed back, to make sure she was alright and to bring her a robe to put on. She wondered how Carolyn would like what Elizabeth had planned.

Downstairs at Collinwood, Barnabas heard Carolyn's howls as he was giving David a chess lesson. A look of mixed emotions crossed his pale features. He felt more than a little guilt each month, when Carolyn left the house to undergo the change.

With the wisdom of hindsight, he could see what a cad he had been in his initial treatment of Angelique. It was wrong for him to have seduced her –a member of the household staff- when he knew he didn't love her. Barnabas now saw how wrong it was. It would have been acceptable if he had true feelings for her. Then, their different stations in life would have been irrelevant, so far as he was concerned. However, to have –as he now felt he did- taken advantage of his position and used her for his carnal pleasures when he could see she felt something towards him…That was something else entirely. He well knew that men in his position often did such things back then –and from what he'd gleaned from books and television- apparently still did. With hindsight though, it didn't make it right in the slightest.

If he allowed himself to be completely objective, Barnabas could see where Angelique's anger at him could come from. He could even accept that she would justifiably want vengeance against him. Of course, he still felt that what she did was disproportionately excessive.

If it had been only he that she had aimed her wrath at, Barnabas might have been able to make somehow forgive her. However, he could not forgive what she had done to seemingly every member of the Collins family that Angelique had encountered over the years. Barnabas had to way to calculate the effects the family had suffered at her hands. The family business nearly destroyed…David's mother being drowned…Roger's neglect of his son. (The better angels of Barnabas' nature allowed him to hypothesize that it was Laura's death that had caused Roger to become the irresponsible, dishonest and neglectful person that he had sent packing. It likely wasn't true, but Barnabas hated to think a member of the Collins family would've become like that on his own.)

Another howl sounded and Barnabas' thoughts turned to his niece. Of all the plans of vengeance Angelique had inflicted upon the family, what was done to Carolyn was truly the most bizarre. Barnabas could perhaps see her reasoning for turning him into a vampire. Angelique wanted him to suffer the thirst through eternity while always alone. That he could see the reasoning, demented as it was. But sending a werewolf to bite Carolyn as an infant to turn her? Even after all these months Barnabas could still not decipher what Angelique's reasoning was in doing that. Was it just to torment another member of the Collins family? If so, why imbue Carolyn with the abilities she now had? Had she planned to control Carolyn in wolf form? Then, how was Carolyn still able to control her actions when the change had come over her? Did Angelique hope Carolyn would blame her own family for what had happened? Well, if that was the plan it surely backfired as Carolyn had stood with her family and fought Angelique with them. Angelique was never one for rational behaviour…But what she did to Carolyn truly defied logic. He shook his head in puzzlement and returned his attention to the chessboard.

In her bedroom, Elizabeth –after finding herself unable to sleep- had turned on her bedside light and was propped up, reading Herman Wouk's _The Winds of War_. The sound of the howling wafted in through her open window. Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut, as if that could blot out the sound. Every month, at full moon, when she heard that howl, it brought home perfectly what was done to her daughter. More than once, since the previous year when she'd learned what Carolyn had become, she found herself berating herself for allowing it to happen. Angelique had said she'd sent a werewolf to bite Carolyn when was still in her crib. Well, where was she –her mother- when this had happened? How had she not been there? How had she not noticed anything was wrong? She'd thought back to those times and despite her best efforts could not recall when it could have happened. She'd never noticed anything out of the ordinary. But that wasn't the worst of where her guilt came from. It could reasonably be said that being on guard against a werewolf was not something a new mother was expected to be. Of course, this was Collinwood, so future generations could probably expect anything from late-night teething problems to zombies. Future generations…Elizabeth had once asked Barnabas how lycanthropy could be passed. Barnabas informed her that according to his ancient books, it could be passed through the bite of a werewolf…or by being born of a werewolf. Silence had hung between them when he said that, as they realized that any children Carolyn had would inherit the condition from her. Apparently, Angelique's legacy would carry through the future generations of the Collins family in more ways that just Barnabas' presence. The bright side was that Carolyn's children would not have to hide it the way Carolyn had. The greatest guilt Elizabeth felt was her daughter's need to keep it all a secret. That was something she could not excuse herself for. She thought back to months ago…

"_Well," Elizabeth said as she sat down in the dusty kitchen of The Old House. "It's all arranged. Barnabas went and –as he put it- 'had a most convincing chat' with the Board of Directors from Angel Bay. Apparently, they've all now gone to Sheriff Patterson and signed confessions that they –and 'Angie'- blew up the cannery and set the fire at Collinwood. They're all being charged with arson and Angelique's insurance company will be covering all the costs of rebuilding."_

"_When will that happen?" Carolyn asked as she held an icepack to the back of her neck._

"_I made some calls from town. Crews arrive tomorrow to start salvaging and clearing away. That should take a couple of weeks. Then, the contractors arrive to start rebuilding. I promise you, honey…In a few months, we'll have Collinwood back better than new." Elizabeth said with some forced cheer, as she tried to cope with the stress of the last twenty-four hours._

"_That's great mom." Carolyn said in a typically subdued voice as she removed the icepack._

"_You should keep that there." Elizabeth said as she went to inspect where her daughter had been thrown against the staircase. She looked at the back of Carolyn's neck and gasped as she saw that the bruises had completely disappeared. Carolyn instantly guessed what her mother had seen._

"_Yeah, I, uh, heal up pretty fast now." Carolyn said quietly._

"_Honey…How long has this been happening to you?" Elizabeth asked, as she still tried to process what her daughter was._

"_Since a month after I turned twelve."_

"_Oh Carolyn..Why didn't you __tell__ me?"_

"_What could I have told you? That I turn into a wolf every month at full moon? Would you have even believed me, if you hadn't seen it for yourself?" Carolyn asked bluntly._

"_You still could have come to me. I'm your mother!"_

"_I was…I was afraid."_

"_Of what?"_

"_Of what you might do."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_You've said all my life that the Collins family built this town! We have to set an example! We must never do any wrong! I thought that if you saw what I was, you might want to make sure I couldn't tarnish the family name by being a freak. I was afraid I might get locked up in a padded cell someplace to keep me out of sight. I mean, that's what Vicky's family did with her and she just saw things they couldn't!" Carolyn exclaimed._

"_Oh sweetie…"Elizabeth said as she hugged her daughter. "I am so sorry that you felt that would happen. You are my daughter and you are the most important thing in my life: more than the cannery, more than Collinwood, more than the family name. I don't want you to ever think again that I put how people perceive us as more important than how things really are. Do you understand?"_

"_Yes" Carolyn said simply, as she realized this was probably the most honest conversation she could recall having with her mother._

"_Good" Elizabeth said simply. "Things are going to be much different now. We have Barnabas living with us and now Victoria has been…turned." She said as she reminded herself there were now two vampires living under the Collins roof. "It'll be fine. In a few months, we'll have a new Collinwood. Well, we can make it a new start then as well; the new and improved Collins family for the new Collinwood." Elizabeth said triumphantly as she hugged her daughter._

Elizabeth sighed again as she looked out the window at the full moon. When she was a teenager herself, growing up at Collinwood, she always liked to sit outside and look at the full moon as it shone down on the Atlantic. She never would have dreamed that one day the moon would have such an effect on her daughter –of course, she also never figured that she'd have vampires living at Collinwood and helping to run the family business. Hoping that reading would relax her enough so she could get to sleep, Elizabeth turned her attention back to Herman Wouk's epic historical romance, as Pug Henry was being given a ride through Berlin by Pamela Tudsbury.

Out on the lawn, Carolyn –now fully transformed- bounded off into the woods. As she always did at full moon, she followed no set or preplanned path. She just let her instincts or senses guide her where they would. She sniffed the air, trying to detect any sort of prey. She wasn't compelled to hunt and feed at every full moon, but would do so if the opportunity presented itself. She sometimes stalked animals –and occasionally people- just to see how close she could get without being noticed. Animals detected her presence fairly often –but generally couldn't move fast enough to escape her if she really wanted to feed. Humans though, were pretty much oblivious to her. She realized that if she had meant them harm, or if she had been one of those out of control, predatory werewolves you saw in the movies, they would have been dead. More than once, she had come within ten feet of a teenaged couple at a nearby spot that was a hang-out for the town's teenagers. It had acquired the name of Roger Maris' Mound…because of all the 'home runs' that were scored there. During the full moon in May, a seemingly uptight high school couple Carolyn was vaguely acquainted with –and who both vocally preached abstinence - had engaged in an amazingly raunchy session of sexual intercourse- while the werewolf Carolyn observed from the trees. (At school the following day, Carolyn had to force herself to not scream out what they'd done when she saw them in the hallway, chastely holding hands.)

Now, as Carolyn silently stalked through the summer foliage, a new smell was picked up by her senses. It wasn't a natural scent. The werewolf turned its head, back and forth, as if trying to locate the stream. As it did, the scent was recognized…really cheap cologne. The very same cheap cologne Ron wore far too much of. Carolyn emitted a growl and began to track the scent back to its source.

After several minutes of slowing creeping through the trees, Carolyn came to the tree-line at Maris Mounds. Her golden eyes that could see perfectly in the dark, took in the sight before here.

There, on a blanket, was Ron. He was unmistakable with his mutton-chop sideburns and a mustache that looked like something from a really cheap porn film. He had his shirt off and gold chains glittered on his chest from the moonlight. In fact, the only clothing he appeared to still have on was a pair of amazingly (aside from the cuffs where they flared out) tight, hideously loud polyester pants. Beside him was a girl Carolyn recognized from school. Rebecca James, the fifteen year old middle daughter of the deacon for the town's Episcopal Church. (Carolyn knew her slightly from school. She was nice enough, but seemed to chafe under pressure from her family and wanted to rebel. She was just the type Ron would see as a prime target.) It appeared Rebecca was more susceptible to Ron's dubious charms than she herself was, as Rebecca was almost completely undressed, aside from her panties. Another scent caught her nose…wine. Carolyn looked and saw that Ron had a fiasco-style bottle of Chianti and a pair of plastic glasses next to the blanket. Ron was pouring some wine into them…making sure Rebecca received significantly more than he did.

"Ron…Haven't we had enough wine?" Rebecca said in a somewhat slurred voice.

"What? Nah Rene…"

"Rebecca"

"Whatever…Look at me, I'm fine…" Ron said with a leer as he handed the girl the wine glass and watched her drink it. She giggled and fell back down on her elbows, not apparently noticing or caring that Ron took that opportunity to slide her panties off and throw them away. Carolyn's eyes narrowed…She'd warned him. She took a step forward, deliberately stepping a large branch, causing it to loudly snap under her massive frame.

Ron, meanwhile, was congratulating himself on the efficiency of his latest achievement. He'd just met Rebecca that afternoon and it took such a small amount of sweet-talking to get her up here. It was clear this would be her first time. Well, she's surely remember Ramrod Ronnie…This would be a great party. He even had some cocaine in his car for afterwards if he started to lose energy…He had undone his –glaringly- white mesh belt and unbuttoned his pants when he heard it. A loud snap from the trees like a branch broke…and then another. Just as Ron was wondering if someone was trying to get a look at the show that was about to happen, he heard something else: a growl. Through his slightly inebriated brain, he tried to place the sound. It was kind of like a dog…but far deeper and louder. Another snap then, came from the wood right in front of him.

Ron blinked, trying to make out if something was in there. He looked into the darkened woods and was puzzled to see a pair of fireflies, seemingly hovering over a good six feet off the ground. That was when he realized that it wasn't fireflies. It was a pair of eyes. It was a pair of golden eyes of something that at least six feet tall. Then the eyes seemed to come closer and shadow emerged from the woods and took shape.

Ron's own eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as the moonlight revealed the largest wolf he had ever seen in his life, standing upright on two legs. His jaw dropped open in shock and terror while his brain tried to process this. The two stared at each other for a long second. Then, the wolf reared its head back and let out a roaring howl. It lowered its head again and looked at Ron as it narrowed its eyes –the classic sign of aggression in an animal.

Ron let out a high, piercing scream of terror. Rebecca looked up from the blanket and took in the sight. However, she was so drunk she really couldn't process it enough to comprehend it. (Indeed, the next morning, while enduring a punishing hangover, Rebecca would remember little and attribute what little she could recall to an alcohol induced hallucination.) The wolf took a step forward. That was the catalyst Ron needed. He turned and bolted for the car that he'd parked halfway across the field. Carolyn waited a few seconds then took off in pursuit.

Several times, Ron stumbled on the way to his car. Once, he fell down with a scream as he felt the tremor of the huge wolf's bulk at it pursued him. Carolyn, on her part, was deliberately keeping a distance from Ron. Even though she considered him to be scum, Carolyn had no intention of doing him any serious harm; even though a part of her felt he would richly deserve it. (As well, Carolyn would never feed on Ron… She had a feeling he'd cause her indigestion.) So, she played cat and mouse with, staying close enough to keep him terrified but far enough back that he'd be out of her reach.

Just before Ron reached his car, a new –and horrendously foul- odour reached Carolyn's nostrils. It was coming from Ron. Apparently, Ron was so terrified he'd lost control of his bowels and soiled himself thoroughly. (For an instant, Carolyn wished she was in human form and able to talk, so she could tell Ron that his brains were leaking.) After a seeming eternity, Ron reached his 1964 Mustang convertible. He leapt him, looking back to see the beast still after him, screamed and brought the engine to life. He roared off for the twisting road that led back to town. Carolyn continued her pursuit. As he raced for the turn that led to the exit road, Ron looked back to see the nightmarish creature still behind him. As a result, he didn't see the headlights coming up the road. In fact, he was totally unaware of Sheriff Bill Patterson's patrol car…until he smashed into it.

The two cars came to a halt, smoke pouring from the hood of both. Bill Patterson cursed loudly at the damage done to his car. At least, he'd been wearing his seatbelt. (He'd read about how their use was greatly reducing traffic fatalities, so he felt he should be setting an example to the people of Collinsport by always wearing his own two-point belt with a supplementary shoulder sash.) He got out of his car, to see the driver of the other vehicle, his face bloodied and bruised from hitting the steering wheel, scrambling out of his convertible.

"Ok mister, where do you think you're going?" Bill said to the wild-eyed, half-naked man. Behind the Mustang, Bill thought he saw something –he could not tell what- stealthily move back into the trees

"It's a giant wolf…it's walking like a gorilla…it's after me!" Ron screamed as he tried to push past Bill, as he did so his polyester pants fell to his ankles. He was wearing no underwear and was thus now wild-eyed with terror, naked but for a pair of black socks and covered in his own excrement..

"Just hold on one goddamned minute pal…" Bill started as the sight and smell hit him..

"Let me out of here!" Ron screamed as he lashed out at Bill, with a punch to his jaw. Bill was taken by surprise but quickly recovered. He grabbed Ron's arm and applied a take-down hold. Ron was forced to the ground, where Bill quickly handcuffed him. All the time, Ron was still screaming about the gorilla-wolf. Bill walked over to the Mustang and shone his flashlight in. Right there on the front seat –in plain view so a warrant was not needed- was several bags of white powder. Bill would bet ten bucks it was cocaine (and the county sheriff's lab would verify this the following day). The Collinsport sheriff looked across Maris Mound –where he'd been on his way up to check, as he was well aware it was where the high school kids went to park- and saw what looked like a young, naked girl laying on a blanket. He shone his flashlight on her and was relieved to see her moving, as well as the wine bottle; correctly deducing she was just drunk.

"Oh ayuh, mister, you're in all types of trouble" Bill said as he went to radio in from his wrecked car's radio. Every full moon, it seemed, there was strange things going in town. At least this incident here was something that was clear cut and something he could handle. (Which was a welcome relief, since from the time that Barnabas Collins guy came to town and moved into Collinwood; it seemed that the weird events never seemed to end. In fact, Bill Patterson had made ignoring the strangeness of the man into a fine art. He had to admit that the Collins guy was extremely polite and congenial to all he met, and had a great deal of civic pride…but was just plain weird.)

Twenty minutes later, two other police cars had arrived on the scene. One had bundled the still naked and screaming Ron into the back for his trip down to the sheriff's office and the local lock-up. The other was taking Rebecca to the local hospital to be checked out before bringing her home.

Bill got into the driver's seat of the car taking Ron in. One deputy was remaining behind with the wrecked cars to await the tow-trucks that had been called in, but was not on the far side of Maris Mound packing up the blanket and making sure the James girl hadn't left anything behind. As Bill adjusted his rearview mirror, he could've sworn he saw something in the taillights, before he drove away. He couldn't be sure…But it looked like some sort of animal had approached Ron's Mustang…and was lifting its leg on it. Bill shook his head and decided this was another thing he was going to forget about.

On the far side of Maris Mound, Deputy Frid was doing a final check before walking back to the cars to await the tow trucks. That was when he heard it. He couldn't find a good way to describe what he heard, but it sounded like…a dog (or a wolf) was making noises like it was laughing. Then it faded away. Oh well, thought Frid…For Collinsport during the full moon, that was nothing.

The pale figure of Victoria stepped across the lawn as the moon set, in the predawn darkness of July 16th, 1973. She saw the huge wolf collapse as its body contorted and shrunk. The dark fur receded…the muzzle retracted…the paws reverted to Carolyn's feet. The sounds of bones realigning reached Victoria's ears and she suppressed a shudder. Carolyn had told her that the change no longer hurt…but the sound of her bones doing that simply did not sound pleasant at all. Soon enough, the change back was complete and Carolyn was standing to her feet, brushing some grass from her bare knees as Victoria hand her the bathrobe she was carrying.

"Happy birthday Carolyn!" Victoria said, giving her a hug once Carolyn had put the robe on.

"Thanks" Carolyn responded. Victoria looked at her and was puzzled. Carolyn had a greatly amused smirk on her face. Usually after the change, she simply looked becalmed and tired.

"Did something happen?" Victoria asked.

"Oh yeah, and it was a blast." Carolyn said as she recounted the Mound incident as the two walked back towards Collinwood.

"A gorilla-wolf?" Elizabeth repeated into the phone in the sparklingly modern kitchen of Collinwood. (Elizabeth had insisted on a totally modern kitchen when the house was rebuilt.) "Bill, you said he was drunk and had drugs with him. Wouldn't that be a good enough explanation?...Yes, I know it's weird here at full moon, but a gorilla-wolf? But, if that's what was going on, then his employment at the cannery will definitely be terminated. You want to talk to some of our female staffers? Well, send someone over today and I'll leave word to fully cooperate. No, I'll be away for a few days. Thanks Bill…Bye." Elizabeth said as she hung up the phone and carefully removed the waffle from the iron. She turned as she heard Carolyn –her hair wet from having showered- come into the kitchen and sit down at the breakfast nook.

"Well, happy birthday sweetheart." Elizabeth said as she gave her now sixteen year old daughter a hug and a kiss. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down while Carolyn tucked into her breakfast.

"So…My little girl is now sixteen. It seems like yesterday you were still a newborn." Elizabeth reminisced. "So, I've been doing some research."

"Into what?" Carolyn asked as she took a drink her orange juice.

"Schools"

"Schools?"

"Yes. In New York City. There are quite a few good ones that accept borders. We can easily afford it now and…"

"Mom…"

"Yes?"

"Thanks, but…Well, I don't want to go anymore."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked, with feigned curiosity. She rather expected this response but she did want to know why. "I thought this was what you wanted."

"It was what I wanted. But, that was when I thought I still had to hide. I thought that I didn't fit in here. I thought I was the freak in the family that couldn't do wrong. So, I wanted to go away someplace that was big enough and weird enough that I wouldn't get noticed. I thought I could fit in there."

"But you don't now?"

"No" Carolyn said with a small smile as she poured some maple syrup on her waffles. "I'm a Collins. This is our home. It's where I belong. And I realize now that I really do fit in here than I would anywhere else."

"Well, I'm very glad to hear that sweetheart. But, I hope you're not totally against going to New York City." Elizabeth said with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Carolyn said with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, I've already made the arrangements. We catch a train to Portland at nine this morning and then get one to New York City. The Carpenters are performing at Madison Square Garden tonight and I have a pair of tickets for us, as well as reservations for three nights at the Plaza. I thought we could see the sights and do some shopping." Elizabeth said with a smile as she could see that she'd succeeded in surprising her daughter. "Now finish your breakfast then go get dressed. Willie will drive us down to the train station." Elizabeth said as Carolyn complied.

As Carolyn started up the stairs, Elizabeth called out to her.

"Honey…Do you know anything about Ron from the cannery getting arrested last night after having hysterics about a gorilla-wolf?" Elizabeth asked as she gave Carolyn a synopsis of what Bill had told her.

"A gorilla-wolf?" Carolyn asked with feigned ignorance.

"Why yes. It was up at Babe Ruth Point last night."

"You mean Roger Maris Mound?"

"Oh, it was Babe Ruth Point when I was your age, but what he said….?"

Carolyn smirked. "I think someone who somehow thinks a wolf and gorilla can go together is clearly too dumb to work for us. I'll be right down!" Carolyn said as she bolted up the service stairs.

Elizabeth put down her macramé magazine and looked over at her daughter as the Massachusetts countryside sped by. The train's whistle blew and the red flashings lights of a level crossing passed by the window. Carolyn seemed highly interested in the scenery and was definitely enjoying the train trip so far. Elizabeth was enjoying it as well. In fact, she couldn't recall the last time they'd ever gone on a trip together. In fact, this three day holiday was something Elizabeth was looking forward to as much as Carolyn seemed to be. She well knew how long it had been since she'd been able to really relax.

She thought back this day last year and found it amazing at how different things were. Then, she felt like the Collins family was a ship slowly sinking and she was the captain. But now, she felt something she hadn't felt in so long she couldn't remember…optimism. She was actually optimistic for the future of the Collins family.

A year ago, they were in increasingly desperate financial straits. Her brother Roger was more of a problem than any sort of help. Carolyn was like a stranger to her and only seemed to want to leave. David was –so they thought- mentally disturbed. And she herself felt that the whole burden was on her. But now…Roger was gone and –as much as it hurt her to talk of her brother that way- the family was the better for it. David was being raised jointly by her and Barnabas. Barnabas was proving to be a far, far better father to David than Roger had ever tried to be. David himself was proving to be turning into a fine young man. Of course, there really had never been anything wrong with him to begin with. It turned out he had been correct all along in that he talked to his mother's ghost. There was Victoria who had proven to be a gentle and calming influence on everyone and who had brightened the entire family when she became a part of it. And Barnabas…Elizabeth would have never dreamed that one day the man whose portrait had hung over the mantle would walk through the door and prove to be the family's salvation. Despite all the drama that had come from their battle with Angelique, Barnabas' arrival had turned the family around. He was directly responsible for their fortune being restored and their cannery now on its way to being a huge success. (When she got back later in the week, she recalled that _Business Week_ wanted to interview her about how the cannery was now the success story of the decade so far, with its stunning turnaround in just one year.) But, even more importantly, he had seemingly showed them what they all were. They were not a normal family and shouldn't try to be…but they were still a family. It was as if…Barnabas arriving had shown them that they should accept that they were different. And so far, it was working. It was like by accepting that they were dysfunctional they had become functional.

And then there was Carolyn. If anyone was the biggest reason for her to be optimistic about the future of the Collins family, it was because of her. Carolyn, Elizabeth was now sure, would be more than able to fill her shoes one day and be able to effectively run the family businesses. She knew now that the future was in secure hands.

Carolyn looked out the window at the summer scenery of New England as the Amtrak train sped south to New York City. She couldn't help but smile. For so long, she'd dreamed of making this journey…one way. Now though, she was bubbling with excitement –even if she refused to show it much- at this trip to New York, but was extremely glad that they'd be back at Collinwood before the end of the week. Collinwood was her home. It was that simple. It was her home and it was where she belonged. The cannery was their legacy and she planned to step into her mother's shoes one day and run it and their other businesses as well.

She couldn't pinpoint just when this change in attitude had come over her. She just knew that it had. Maybe it was witnessing the destruction of the old manor and realizing just how much a part of her it had been. Perhaps it was the gladness of moving in when Collinwood had been rebuilt. Most likely, it had been the moment she dropped onto the foyer floor that night; ready to fight Angelique to the death to defend her family. That moment, she knew she'd accepted that she was a Collins and that she would defend her family from anyone.

As well, she had to admit that Barnabas' arrival had greatly helped. It let her feel that she wasn't a freak after all. She now saw her condition as a gift rather than a curse. It was funny. She thought she had to go to Manhattan to fit it, but it turns out that Collinwood was where she fit in better than anywhere else in the world. After all, when a house has (two) vampires, ghosts and someone who talks to ghosts…How could she, as a werewolf ever NOT fit it?

She'd once thought Collinwood boring. But now, she felt that New York City, despite all it had to offer, was the dull place. Sure, it had great restaurants, theatres and shopping (and not to say Carolyn was against going to New York occasionally for a weekend getaway), but Collinwood had stuff you literally could not –so far as she knew- find anywhere else in the world. It had supernatural events happening as regularly as a train schedule. It had a stairway to a parallel time. (During the rebuilding, a workman accidentally slipped through the portal. He returned three hours later, but had spent two weeks in the other reality. He'd then gotten into an argument with Barnabas about how he was owed two weeks pay. Barnabas settled the argument by hypnotizing the man into forgetting what he'd seen and then having the stairwell access firmly locked up tight.) It had Barnabas! Watching him adjust to the 20th Century was almost better than television. She thought, where else could she get to see a vampire watching _H.R. Pufnstuff_ on television and trying to understand what it was about. (Personally, Carolyn felt that the magical mushrooms on the show were most apt, as magic mushrooms surely were involved in the writing process.)

Carolyn smiled and sat back in her seat. She recalled wanting to see the world. And she still planned to do that. However, she now knew that she would always return to Collinwood after any trip or journey. She was a Collins. She belonged at Collinwood. Perhaps the greatest gift she'd received for her sixteenth birthday –at least so far- was being able to realize that fact. Knowing one's place in the world was truly the most precious gift of all.


End file.
